A helicopter flew past my lighthouse. lt made a terrible clattering noise that seemed to make the whole lighthouse shake and everything in it; even the teacups on the dresser!

l ran to the top of the lighthouse to see what was going on and the helicopter flew so close that l could see the pilot’s face.

lt was a coastguard helicopter.

There is a coastguard station at Rocky Bay operated by Cliff and Rod the Rocky Bay coastguards and their helicopter was on a training mission. That means they were practising rescuing someone who was in trouble at sea.

Coastguards have an interesting job. They do many things. They are like the policemen of the sea. They arrest people when they have been naughty, they check safety on ships and they search for people who are lost or hurt or stuck somewhere.

They use boats and helicopters to go to people. Sometimes the people who are in trouble are in a boat, sometimes they have fallen down a cliff or have been cut off by the tide and are stranded on a little island in the sea.

Helicopters can fly because they have blades on the top of them called rotas. The rotas go around so fast they cut into the air and can lift the helicopter up.

Helicopters can fly forwards, backwards and sideways and even hover in one place which is really useful when they want to lower a man down on a rope in order to rescue someone trapped on a cliff or a boat.

Helicopter rotas are shaped a little bit like a maple seed. Do you ever throw maple seeds in the air and watch how they spin through the air and down to the ground?

There were toys that children played with that looked a lot like maple seeds as far back as 400 BC. They were simple pieces of wood or bamboo and children spun them round, let them go and the toy lifted up into the air.

Coastguard helicopters operate around the coasts, but if you live inland you can sometimes see helicopters that belong to the police.

Sometimes the helicopters are an ambulance service or have people with television cameras aboard.

Sometimes very rich people use them to go somewhere instead of using a car!

l expect l will see the Rocky Bay helicopter again soon.

Bye bye everyone – don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

Love and kisses

Salty Sam

www.christina-sinclair.com

lf you ever need the coastguard in Britain, you can ring 999

(or 112)

– and 101 for non-emergency situations

In Hong Kong and Ireland it is 999 too

If you are in the USA or Canada or Mexico it is 911

If you are in Japan it is 119

If you are in Australia it is 000

In New Zealand it is 111

In any EU country it is 112

Only ring for help when you know someone is in trouble – never just to have a helicopter visit you!

What is the number in other countries – do you know?

And if you would like to see some pictures of some really important rescues at sea, you can find them on the website belonging to my good friends at The lnternational Maritime Rescue Federation.

Maple seeds ripening – when they are brown they will be ready to fly off in the autumn winds

THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK

We have the Rocky Bay coastguards to help people in trouble at sea, but we also have a police station in the town to help deal with any emergency on land. If you ever need to know, the police station is situated in the middle of town in Letsbe Avenue.

The keen reporters from the Rocky Bay Gazette are always alerted to any interesting occurrences that the police are called out to deal with.

Sometimes their headlines and reports leave us smiling; no wonder Rocky Bay is such a happy place!

Me writing my blog

Here are some of the most memorable ones:

The Rocky Bay Gazette

A hole has appeared in the road leading into Rocky Bay; the police are looking into it.

Last week we had very hot weather which brought out the crowds, but there was confusion in the high street when a milk float crashed into an egg stall in the market. Police arrived to discover the road blocked by a ten foot omelet.

All the toilet seats were stolen from the Rocky Bay police station last night. Police have nothing to go on.

Two prisoners escaped from custody last night when the back door of the police station fell off due to over-rusted hinges. Police said the prisoners’ distinguishing features are that one is nearly seven feet tall and the other is only four foot six. They say they have been hunting high and low for them.

Seven puppies were stolen from the Rocky Bay Pet Shop last Saturday night. Police have asked people to be on the look out for anyone selling hot dogs.

Police have had a busy week with the influx of holiday makers. They arrested one kid for stealing a battery and another for playing with fireworks. They charged the first one but let the other one off.

This week somebody found my blog by using the search string ‘where to find mermaids and be friendswith them’. So whoever that person was, I can tell you that you have come to the right place – there are mermaids living in Rocky Bay because it is such a wonderful and magical place.

I told the mermaids about this and Shelly and all her sisters want to say hello to you whoever you are – and they would love to be your friend.

NEWSDESK MINIMAKE

A KNITTED DOLL BAG

As promised, here is a pattern for a bag and a pattern for some shoes for the knitted doll that has been featured in the last five blog posts. There will be more clothes for you to make for her in the future.

KNITTED BAG (KNIT ONE)

Using 4mm knitting needles and white dk yarn cast on 30 stitches

Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch

Change to yellow dk yarn

Knit 6 rows of garter stitch

TO MAKE UP

Sew up side and bottom seams using over-sew stitching.

Make a strap by crocheting 30 chains into a length of yellow yarn and attaching it to each side by sewing the ends to the top of the bag.

SHOES (KNIT TWO)

Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 20 stitches

Knit 2 rows of garter stitch

Purl 1 row

Knit 5 rows of stocking stitch

TO MAKE UP

Cut off a 20cm/8 inch length of yarn and pull this end through your stitches.

Pull the yarn tight and sew up back and then bottom seams with right sides together.

To make a strap, crochet 10 chains into a length of green yarn and sew the ends into the sides of the shoe.

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lt’s the Weekend!

HOW TO MAKE A BOBBLE OCTOPUS

Make a small bobble as the instructions show in blog post 1 or use a shop bought one.

Make 4 strands of chain stitch using a crochet hook – about 20cm/8inches long (40 chains). Neaten the ends and curl them round by taking the end of the yarn back into the chain and then sew the middle of each strand to the centre of the underside of the pompom.

This will create eight tentacles.

Add felt or googly eyes.

Add a thread loop if you want to hang your octopus up before sewing the tentacles to the underside.

Oct means eight and an octopus has eight tentacles.

(This is not a suitable toy for a baby.)

Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use or for use in classrooms only.

It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.

Use of the toys and projects on all of these blogs is at your own risk.

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